Thursday, June 05, 2008

See What an Evening with Shawn Will Do

It is a gorgeous, sunny day today so it is no day to be thinking about things past. No, today is a day to be in the present moment! In my present moment, I am being totally inspired by a book that the gorgeous, sunny Shawn loaned me. It is called Intertwined: The Art of Handspun Yarn, Modern Patterns and Creative Spinning. The author has become well known for her wild yarns spun from the usual suspects: wool, alpaca, etc., but also fabric, beads, buttons, newspaper, springs and washers, you name it. I have never seen such yarn. Some of it seems like it might be unpleasant to knit up (if very fun to make) but many of the projects she makes are just fantasic and fun and very inspiring.

My spinning to date has very much been about improving and adding to my skills, but after reading and looking at this book, I feel ready to break some rules. My first attempt was made as part of the etsyFAST (Fibre Artist Street Team) June challenge, the theme of which is heroes. I chose Elizabeth Goudie. Elizabeth Goudie was among the last generation of women married to trappers in Labrador who had to survive in that harsh environment, often for months at a time with small children, before any modernization came to that part of the province. She also is the only woman, as far as I know, to ever write an autobiography about what that experience was like. To read her story is to be awed by her mental and physical strength as well as her amazing attitude about life. I made her yarn from a wide variety of fibres, all in their natural colours - mostly white to symbolize the snow of Labrador (it is still falling there, btw). I added some browns and greys because her life, like the Labrador landscape, was not all pristine and contained a good dose of hardship and tragedy. I plied it with a bit of sparkle. I wanted to give her a little glamour and glitter after all her hard work.

Here is Elizabeth Goudie's yarn:

But after enlightenment, the laundry, as they say. And so it will be on this sunny day but perhaps there will a moment or two to spin some more. The ideas are flowing fast and furious.